Fermentation process for the production of acetone and higher alcohols from starch, sugars, and other carbohydrate material.



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AUGUSTE FERNBACH,

OF PARIS, FRANCE, AND EDWARD HALEORD STRANGE, OF STAPLE INN, LONDON,ENGLAND.

EERMENTATION PROCESS EOR THE PRODUCTION OF ACETONE AND HIGHER ALEOHOLSFROM STARCH, SUGARS, AND OTHER CARBOHYDRATE MATERIAL.

No Drawing.

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed September 24, 1912.Serial No. 722,120.

Patented Nov. 12, 1912;

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, AUoUs'rn FnRNBAoH, acitizen of the Republic of. Frame, of 26 Rue Dutot, Paris, in theRepublic of France, and EDWARD HALFORD STRANGE, a subject of the King ofGreat Britain and Ireland, of 7 Staple Inn,

' land, have invented new and useful improvements connected withfermentation processes for the production of acetone and higher alcoholsfrom starch, sugars, and other carbohydrate materials, of which thefollowing is a specification.

The object of our invention is to manufacture acetone, and higheralcohols, for-example propyl, amyl and normal butyl alcohols, fromcarbohydrate materials in a very economical and eiiicient manner, andwith a good yield, and to enable the process to be carried on as acontinuous process for a considerable time, if so desired.

According to our invention we take carbohydrate material, such forinstance as maize, potatoes, glucose, or the substances obtained fromwoody matter by treatment with superheated steam, or acids, (or mixturesof such matters) and make a mash thereof with a large quantity of water,and we sterilize the said mash, which may be done by heating to atemperature 'of, or about, 130 centigrade. We also add (before, orafter, sterilizing) a small quantity of yeast, degraded as hereinafterdescribed, either by the action of a ferment such as Tyrotlzflw team's(see System Der Bactem'en; Dr. W. Migula, Jena, 1900, page 587), in thepresence of sterilized air, or by means of steam, or of water heatedunder pressure. The mixture may then be maintained at an elevatedtemperature for some time, and, after cooling, a ferment of the type ofthe butylic bacillus of Fitz is added, care being taken that air doesnot have access to the mixture during fermentation and the properfermentation temperature being maintained until the fermentation iscomplete, and then the mass is subjected to distillation and theproducts of distillation obtained (consisting principally of water,acetone, and higher alcohols) can be separated from one another byfractional distillation, or other suitable means.

'lhe degraded yeast hereinbefore referred to is made from yeast (suchfor instance as in the county of London, Engvals during,

yeast remaining from processes of fermentation) by mixmg it with waterand sterilizmg 1t, which can be done by subjecting it to a sufliclentlyhigh temperature for some time, and then the mixture is cooled and aferment of the type of Tyrothria: tennis is added, sterilized air beingallowed to have access to the mixture during, or at interthe period offermentation.

At the end of the fermentation it has been found that about ninety percent. of the nitrogenous matter of the yeast-has been converted into asoluble form not precipitatable by tannin. In place of degrading theyeast by means of the ferment referred to, it may be degraded by meansof steam, or by water heated under pressure.

It-is found advantageous to conduct the fermentation in a closed vesselconnected with an exhausting device and a condenser, the exhaustingdevice being operated so as to obtain such a reduction of pressure aswill remove from the fermentation vessel all, or most, of the substanceswhich have volatil- -ized with water vapor at the temperature offermentatiomand by this means the process can be carried on for acontinuous period if the fermentation vessel be provided with means-forsupplying sterilized water and the substances to be fermented, and alsothe aforesaid degraded yeast. The said reduc= tion of pressure by theexhaustingdevice may for instance, with a watery mash, at a temperatureof from 30 to 40, centigrade, be a reduction corresponding to less thansix inches of mercury absolute, in the absence of any considerableevolution of gases. If gases be present to any considerable extent, sohigh a vacuummay not be necessary.

If desired, any gaseous matter, as distinguished from the condensablevapors,can be absorbed by alkali, or other chemical agent which willcombine with the said gaseous matter before the vapors reach thecondenser, for instance CO can be absorbed bypassing the gases andvapors through soda lye, or milk of lime.

Although we have hereinbefore described the conjoint use of theaforesaid degraded yeast and reductionof pressure in conducting thefermentation under the action of a ferment of the character of thebutylic bacillus of Fitz (see Deutscbe Chemz'scke to 50 per cent. of thecarbohydrate employed into a mixture of acetone and higher alcohols inthe proportion of approximately two parts of higher alcohols to one partof acetone.

The following are examples of the way in which our invention can beperformed,

but we do not limit ourselves to these examples.

Preparation of degraded yeast suitable for use in the process.

Example 1: 100 pounds of pressed yeast are mixed with 1,000 pounds ofwater, and the mixture is sterilized by heat, employing a temperatureof, say,.about 130 centigrade during several hours. The mixture is thencooled, preferably to a temperature of from 30 to 35 Centigrade, and aferment of the type'TyrOthriw tenuis is added, in the presence ofsterilized air care being taken that no other ferment o tains access tothe mixture. The mixture is maintained preferably at from 30 to 35centigrade for from four, to five, weeks, sterilized air being admitted,say at intervals of 24: hours. By the end of the four or five weeks,about ninety per cent. of the nitrogenous content of the mixture isconverted into compounds which are not capable of being precipitated bytannin.

Example 2: 100 lbs. of pressed yeast and 1,000 lbs. of wateraresubjected to a temperature of about 150 centigrade for 24 hours, oruntil a sufficient proportion of the nitrogenous matter of the yeast hasbeen converted into a form not capable of being precipitated by tannin.Acids, or alkalis, may be added to facilitate the conversion, but anyacid, or alkali, remaining at the end of the treatment must then beneutralized.

The following is an example of how the fermentation under the action ofa ferment such as the butylic bacillus of Fitz in accordance with thisinvention can be carried out, using the aforesaid de raded yeast as wellas reduced pressure, although, as aforesaid, either can be used withoutthe other.

Example 3: Twenty-five pounds of potato meal are mixed with one thousandpounds of water in a closed vessel connected with an exhaustingapparatus and a condenser and to this mixture we add a quantity of theaforesaid degraded yeast such as contains half a pound of solublenitrogenous matter not capable of precipitation by tannin. The mixtureis then boiled for four hours at a pressure of 130 pounds and thetemperature is then reduced to from 30 to 35 centigrade, and we then adda ferment of the type of the butylie bacillus of Fitz, care being takenthat, during ferl'nentation, air does not have access to the mixture.The exhausting apparatus is operated so as to reduce the pressure in thefermenting vessel to such a degree that acetone, higher alcohols, andwater vapor will be withdrawn and passed to the condenser.

What we claim is:

1. The process of obtaining acetone and higher alcohols which consistsin mixing carbohydrate matter with water, sterilizing the mixture,adding a ferment of the ty of the butylic bacillus of Fitz and then subjecting the mixture to fermentation in the absence of air and leadingofi' and condensing the vapors as they are formed.

2. The process of obtaining acetone and higher alcohols which consistsin mixing carbohydrate matter with water, sterilizing the mixture,adding a ferment of the type of the butylic bacillus of Fitz and thensubjecting the mixture to fermentation in the absence of air, whilewithdrawing vapors as they are produced.

3. The process of obtaining acetone and higher alcohols which consistsin mixing carbohydrate matter with water, sterilizing the mixture,adding a ferment of the ty e of the butylic bacillus of Fitz and thensubjecting the mixture to fermentation in the absence of air, whilewithdrawing vapors as they are produced and absorbing the gases beforethe vapors pass to the condenser.

4. The process of obtaining acetone and higher alcohols which consistsin mixing carbohydrate matter with water, adding thereto a suitablydegraded yeast, sterilizing the mixture, adding a ferment of the ty 0 ofthebutylic bacillus of Fitz and then su jecting the mixture tofermentation in the absence of air.

5. The process of obtaining acetone and higher alcohols which consistsin mixing carbohydrate matter with water, adding thereto a suitablydegraded yeast, sterilizing the mixture, addmga ferment of the type ofthe butylic bacillus of Fitz and then subjecting the mixture tofermentation in the absence of air while withdrawing vapors as they areproduced.

6. The process of obtaining acetone and higher alcohols which consistsin mixing carbohydrate matter with water, adding thereto a suitablydegraded yeast, sterilizing the mixture, adding a ferment of the type ofthe butylic bacillus of Fitz and then subjecting the mixture tofermentation in the absence of air, while withdrawing vapors as they areproduced and absorbing the gases before the vapors pass to thecondenser.

7. The process of obtaining acetone and higher alcohols which consistsin mixing carbohydrate matter with water, adding thereto a yeastdegraded by the action of a ferment of the type of Tyrothfim tenuz'zs',sterilizing the mixture, adding a ferment of the type of the butylicbacillus of Fitz and then subjecting the mixture to fermentation in theabsence of air.

8. The process of obtaining acetone and higher alcohols which consistsin mixing carbohydrate matter with water, adding thereto a yeastdegraded by the-action of a ferment of the type of Tyrothrim team's,sterilizing the mixture, adding a ferment of the type of the butylicbacillus of Fitz and then subjecting the mixture to fermentation in theabsence of air; while withdrawing vapors as they are produced.

he process of obtaining acetone and in mixing water, adding the actionof a yrotkrz'w tenuz's,

higher alcohols which consistscarbohydrate matter with thereto a yeastdegraded b ferment of the type of sterilizing the mixture, adding aferment of the type of the butyli'c bacillus of Fitz and then subjectingthe mixture to fermentation in the. absence of air,' while withdrawingvapors as they are produced and absorbing the gases before the vaporspass to the con-. denser.

In testimony whereof wethave signed our names to this specification thepresence m of two subscribing witnesses AUGUSTE FERNBAOH. EDWARD HALFORDSTRANGE.

Witnesses LUCIEN MEMMINGER, JAoK 'H. BATEMAN.

